Voices from the Past

This forum is open to all of the villagers of Trelawnyd past and present

I would like for them to share their memories, old photographs, family histories and past Village news with me so that I may be able to present a comprehensive record of this small. ancient and facinating Welsh Village Community throughout the ages.

All photographs will be returned after being scanned and published

For those that want to read a comprehensive study on theHistory of Trelawnyd, please refer to the Book "TRELAWNYD PAST & PRESENT" by Daphne and Ken Davies

Last night I went to the Trelawnyd and Gwaenysgor Community Council meeting and in passing had chance to read a photocopy of the Prestatyn Weekly Newspaper dated the 23rd of October 1909.In it was an article discussing an initiative by Mr Michael Antonio Ralli,who was the Greek Consul in Liverpool, to build our village Hall as a way of giving jobs and motivation to the local unemployed.Ralli was a somewhat colourful character to be found in a predominantly Welsh village. He was a Greek from Odessa who made a small fortune importing cotton from Russia when American could not export it's own during the American Civil War and I find it fascinating that after a period living in London and Liverpoolhe and his wife Polynmia, would end up dominating an insular and quiet backwater village.A Ukrainian Greek as Lord of the ManorHow Exotic!Trelawnyd ( or Newmarket as it was formally known) was Ralli's dream, he clearly wanted it to develop in status when he gifted the Memorial Hall to the villageThe newspaper cutting eluded to that fact when it stated that Ralli's wish was to make Newmarket a "Garden City", a rather grand dream for a village of 600 simple souls, but a rather sweet one nevertheless. I wonder what Ralli would have made of the fact the Newmarket title was renamed Trelawnyd in 1954...The "new" name was in keeping , I suppose, for it has a name that Ralli might of liked.....Trelawnyd literally means " a town full of wheat"